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Concept
Category design
Category design is choosing or shaping the frame a buyer files you under. The category sets the expectations, the comparisons, and the acceptable price.
Why it matters
Win the category and you become the default. Fight inside someone else's category and you play by their rules and their prices.
Common misconceptions
- That you must invent a brand-new category. Often it is enough to reframe an existing one.
- That category is marketing fluff. It silently decides what buyers compare you to.
How it connects
- PositioningCategory is the largest frame a position sits in.
- DifferentiationCategories decide which differences are legible.
- PerceptionA category is a shared perception, made durable.
Essays exploring it
Essays on this idea are being written. They will gather here.
Books that shaped my thinking
- Obviously AwesomeApril Dunford
Case studies applying it
Real work applying this idea will be linked here.